Horse Power in the 80's series

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DropMech

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Launch Member

Enthusiast I

404
Florida
First Name
Mike
Last Name
Sorrentino
Service Branch
USCG
I'm still shopping around for a rig and had a question about the power and reliability of the 6 cylinder in the 80s series Land Cruiser. They went to an 8 cylinder from there.


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VCeXpedition

VCeXpedition

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Off-Road Ranger I

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Pleasant View, UT, USA
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Dan
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Rich
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0582

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K6DHR
If you're shopping for an 80 series, there is no better resource that ih8mud.com and check out the FAQ.

I have owned my 80 series for about 18 years and it has been reliable for me, but really I may not be the right one to ask because I am a little bit crazy when it comes to catching problems before they become problems.

The main issue you'll find is the Head Gasket, everyone seems to be concerned about that. It does have a higher incidence of failure, but it's a pretty easy fix if it hasn't been done on one you find.

If you can get a vehicle that has service records, that's great, and that applies to any vehicle you buy.

A lot of 80's are still going from the first owner, Soccer Mom/Mall Crawler duty, so they need to be baselined, which means simply to check/change all bodily fluids, gear oils, etc.

Good luck, they're an awesome vehicle.
 
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1derer

1derer

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Traveler II

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Carlsbad, CA, USA
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user
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name
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1986

I also owned an 80 for many years found it to be very reliable never needed a head gasket ~ 200K on stock engine. It is not a power full engine with about 212HP for 2 Cam engine and about the same ft tq. The V8 does have slightly more power but I believe Toyota went to the V8 to go IFS in the front, not to mention the v8 is a lighter engine by a few hundred lbs. I had more issues with the distributor gasket (water getting in during water crossing) and head cover gasket weeping.

Service records are always a great idea, if you are going to buy a stock rig make sure you take a look a cost of "outfitting" unless you fabricate yourself the 80 series is not cheap to buy accessories for. If you go with larger tires keep in mind a re-grear is in your future.

Good luck!
 
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